Horse Herd Update

it's been a long time since I've blogged about him, so I thought I'd offer a quick update on Turkey.

As a refresher, I bought Turkey as a three year old. Used him all that year and he was quickly becoming one of the best (if not the best) horses I'd ever owned. At that age I was roping and doctoring in the pasture by myself on him and working him on cattle with my hand down. In June of his four-year-old year, he came up lame. We think he injured a collateral ligament in his hoof pulling a shoe off on a cable fence.

I laid him off all the rest of that summer and following winter with no improvement. That spring, I turned him out to pasture and bought a horse to replace him. I picked Turkey up at Christmas and he was still taking some lame steps, but not as severe or frequently. I turned him out near my house for the winter, and we noticed him looking better, but didn't want to get too optimistic.

Over the weekend, we gathered the horses up and took them into the vet for spring vacs and teeth floats. While we were at it, we had the vet do a lameness exam on Turkey. ?That day, he showed no signs of lameness.

I was given the green light to bring him back?slowly. So yesterday I saddled him up for the first time in a year-and-a-half. What's cool is, I didn't bother lunging him, just saddled him, walked him out of the barn and stepped on. It was like I time travelled two years into the past. He felt just like old Turkey. I walked him for a while, then trotted him some. Still no lameness.

I'm sure when I get home tonight, he'll be lame, but as of this writing he was sound. If he comes back sound for good, it'll make my summer.

Other horse herd updates: Deuce, despite going through the fence, is sound, fat and happy. Needs to get in shape. Tuff: (my son?s horse) looks sound after an injection in the navicular bursa and ready to go. Hobo: sent him to Jack McComber for some training. He's a good horse and I can get everything done on him that I need to, but I thought some time in front of a cow might help him do his job more correctly.